Heart of the Tyrant
by CrazyRandomGirl
Summary: After a tragedy in the Michaelson family, Hayley contacts Caroline to help get the depressed Klaus back on the right track. Will romance blossom, or will Klaus fall too far off the rails? ONE SHOT. Blatantly Klaroline.


**Heart of the Tyrant:**

Hi all! Long time, no speak huh? I've missed writing fan fiction, but you know what's been stopping me? A level English Literature. Of course I took one of the most time consuming and stressful subjects because I like to read haha xD Anyway, this is my first shot at writing Klaroline which is weird because I ship them so hard, they are right up there with Adrian and Sydney from Bloodlines and even good old Ross and Rachel from Friends =D This is also in 3rd person for some reason. I don't like writing in third person and never do it but I just didn't want to be too character specific here, I wanted it to be unbiased and… well you'll see! Also, if you could drop me a review, even on how to improve, it would be much appreciated =)

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned The Vampire Diaries/ The Originals but I don't, and if I did, Caroline would be in New Orleans with Klaus!**

After knocking on the door a total of five consecutive times, it finally swung open and Caroline Forbes was met by a tear stained, puffy eyed young werewolf-turned-hybrid. Her wavy brown hair was slung up into a bun on the top of her head and she was wearing track suit bottoms and a tank top, not a drop of make-up in sight aside from the remnants of what was smeared around her eyes. When Caroline spoke her name, it sounded more like a question than a greeting.

"Hayley?" she uttered, barely recognising the girl before her. When the two had last seen each other, Hayley had radiated beauty and confidence, she was care free and, if Caroline was honest, a bit of a bitch. Now she seemed reduced to a mere shell of her former self; there was a dead look in her eyes and an aura of emptiness in her gaze. Not that Caroline blamed her.

"I'm sorry for dragging you out here", Hayley began, the soft southern twang in her voice still present. "I just didn't know who else to call, we've tried everything". With every syllable, her voice became more strained and fresh tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hey" Caroline began, her tone sympathetic, "it's okay, it's the least I could do. As much as I hate to admit it, Klaus has really come through for me this past year, I kinda owe him." And she was right. Despite the hatred that she'd shown him, Klaus had saved her and a multitude of her friends from werewolf bites, he had set Tyler free even when threatened by him, he had showered her with gifts and put her before even himself, something that was incredibly rare for a power-crazy, semi-evil original hybrid to do. Caroline was grateful in truth, apparently so much so that she had ended up sleeping with him the last time he had come to her hometown of Mystic Falls, but that was probably more to do with the fact that somewhere, deep down, she actually cared for him. Not that she could have ever admitted it to her friends. When Klaus had returned to New Orleans, he had sworn to her that she would never have to see or talk to him again, causing Caroline to be surprised beyond belief when she received a distressed call from the mother of his child claiming that he needed her help.

Hayley stepped aside and allowed Caroline to enter her home, closing the door behind her.

"Klaus' room is upstairs and the first door to the right" she explained, "I don't think it's locked but I can't predict what his reaction will be when you enter so don't let your guard down. I've had all sorts of threats made just for asking him if he wants any food or water or even blood. He's been up there for days."

Caroline took a moment to take everything in. An angry original vampire was not something that was particularly fun to deal with, and she knew this from experience. But it was _Klaus_, Klaus who had saved her life, Klaus who she had spent the last few months thinking about non-stop, wondering if he was okay. Despite his reputation and his obvious mean streak, would he ever really hurt _her_?

"Thanks" Caroline said meekly as she began to ascend the stairs. Making small talk with Hayley was not something she was particularly fond of since the two hadn't gotten along when they met previously, but glancing over her shoulder and seeing her broken expression made her think twice. Caroline spun around on the spot before taking a few small steps towards Hayley. "And uhh… I'm really sorry about Elijah" she finished, her voice earnest and her eyes showing sincerity.

Hayley nodded with as much of a smile as she could muster, holding back yet another wave of tears. She and Elijah had been so close that they were practically and item; she was one of the only people besides his family that he had bared his soul to and truly let into his life. "I know" she choked out, "and thank you".

Caroline offered a sympathetic smile in return before continuing her journey up the stairs. Elijah was the matter for which she had been abruptly called to New Orleans, and it was certainly anything but a happy occasion. Somehow, a powerful witch named Davina had been able to raise Michael- the original father hell bent on killing his children- from the dead. In a cruel twist of fate, it was Klaus whose heart he had meant to impale with the deadly white oak stake when Elijah was in the wrong place at the wrong time. The two had duelled, and although favouring him above his younger brother, Michael had not hesitated in killing the most moral and just of the original siblings. Enraged beyond what he thought himself capable of, Klaus had wasted no time in tearing his father limb from limb, but even the revenge he had waited a thousand years for had meant nothing if it could not bring back his brother. According to Hayley she had witnessed the entire thing, and now Klaus was blaming himself for Elijah's death despite her protests that it was his own choice to fight Michael and couldn't have been helped. Being the one person that he would listen to above all others, Caroline was called to help him change his mind set and help restore his place as King of New Orleans.

As she approached his room, Caroline took a moment to wonder if she should knock. What was the point if he probably wouldn't let her in anyway? Instead of doing what most would consider polite, she tried her chances of walking straight in, deeply hoping that the door wasn't locked. Part of her, the rational part, was terrified of what she might find. Would Klaus be angry, vengeful, even _murderous_? Irrationally, at the same time, a different part of her entirely yearned to see Klaus again; to once again lay eyes on the blonde-haired, blue-eyed personification of evil that she had unintentionally and inconveniently fallen for. She twisted the knob and to her delight the door swung straight open, allowing her to gather her confidence and stride into the room. Her high heels clicked on the wooden floor as she walked, immediately alerting Klaus to her presence.

There he was, lying on the bed on his side, facing away from the door. He looked more vulnerable than Caroline had ever seen him. In this moment, in this _state_, he was no longer the all-powerful overlord that she had once known and loathed, but the insecure, broken person that she had connected with in his brief moments of weakness. The _real _Niklaus Mikaelson. Caroline closed the door behind her, hoping she wouldn't regret it later, and nervously cleared her throat to gain the hybrid's attention.

"No need to be rude Hayley, I know you're there", came a low mumble from Klaus' motionless form.

Caroline rolled her eyes, entirely aware that he was unable to see her. She was surprised that his superior vampire hearing hadn't picked up on her voice when she was downstairs, but she assumed he had either been sleeping or too distracted by his own thoughts to notice. At last, she replied "guess again", her tone lightly teasing.

At the sound of her voice, Klaus' head shot up off of the pillow, his torso tilting and his neck craning so that he could look back at her. From looking at his face, Caroline could see that his eyes were even puffier than Hayley's, though still so bright and undeniably blue that the tears resting in them made them look like pools of clear water. The thought of Klaus crying was foreign to Caroline, in fact, no one would have believed the sight until they saw it.

"Caroline?" he asked, his voice breathy and awestruck. He turned around fully so that he was led facing her, revealing that he was wearing only sweat pants and a loose vest top that covered very little of his chest. Even depressed, Caroline mused, Klaus was gorgeous; so physically perfect that he could have walked straight out of one of his own paintings. She simply nodded in response to him, to which he smiled and sighed in disbelief.

"Why?" he continued, sitting up on the bed and tilting his head slightly to one side like a puppy that can't quite understand what its master is saying. His eyes were wide, clearly amazed just to see Caroline standing right there in front of him and flattered that she would visit him in his time of need.

"Hayley told me everything" Caroline explained, walking closer to the bed as she spoke, "and it seemed like you could use someone to talk to right now."

"And you cared?" was Klaus's response, his voice no more than a whisper. As Caroline sat down on the edge of the bed, he studied her with watery eyes, his mouth agape. Her beauty, he realised, had not dimmed since they last met, not even slightly. He'd always held her up in the highest esteem, always taken note of her kindness, her selfless nature, and realised that in another life he would have wanted to be just like her. She was, to him, the closest thing to an angel that he'd ever seen; how ironic it was that she was in fact the exact opposite: a vampire just like him.

"Of course" she replied, her voice full of compassion. "Klaus- no one deserves what you're going through. You've lost too many people, _siblings_ at that. Even with my own father dead, even after losing some of my best friends, I can't even imagine how you're feeling."

"Nobody can" came his response, "and that's the problem Caroline." He sat up and shuffled closer to her, his blonde hair a mess and his face showing all of his grief. "How many people have been alive for a thousand years, loving and losing person after person, being betrayed by their own parents and on top of it all, making a hideous name for themselves?" His voice began to crack as fresh tears began to fall. He raised his voice, not out of anger but out of pain, and spoke again. "I have created a monster out of myself to hide from everything life and death have thrown at me. I have infested the hollowed shell of a charming, artistic, innocent young man with unspeakable evil to make myself feel as if I'm actually alive. I want to escape it Caroline, I want to be loved and love back in return, you know that more than anyone, it's all I want!" The tyrant buried his face in his hands, his chest heaving with sobs that he tried to stifle to no avail. The sadness radiating off of him was becoming too much for Caroline to bear. Without overthinking, she kicked her shoes off and fully climbed onto the bed, crawling over to him and sitting cross-legged by his side. Cautiously, she put an arm around his shoulders and he instantly tensed at her touch.

"It's okay" she soothed, rubbing his back and leaning closer into him, "you can cry, you need it, everyone does. It will help" Swallowing his pride entirely, Klaus relaxed and leaned his head onto Caroline's shoulder. She smelled of vanilla and had a comforting warmth to her that soothed him and made him never want to let go. Opening up to someone in such a vulnerable fashion was unheard of when it came to Klaus- he was strong, unstoppable and heartless, or at least that's what he wanted people to think. But with Caroline it was different; he didn't feel the need to pretend around her because there was nothing she didn't already know. The walls that he held up for the rest of the world had fallen down in front of her many months ago, and Klaus was beginning to accept that they were never going back up. He wasn't even sure he wanted them to anymore.

"Cami was right" he between sobs, "I have issues, serious ones."

"Cami?" Caroline questioned, a tell-tale hint of jealousy to her voice. Klaus smiled a little at this, happy to see yet more signs that she cared for him more than she would admit.

"A friend" he assured her, though how much that was true he wasn't sure. Since moving to New Orleans, Klaus had certainly taken a fancy to Camille the ultra-smart psychology-major bartender, but mostly because…well, she reminded him of Caroline. She was compassionate, caring more about avenging her brother's death than keeping herself healthy and happy. She had cared about Klaus himself even after he had said and done unspeakable things to her and those she loved… but she was no match for the girl that sat before him now.

"She studied psychology in college" he continued, "she was helping me work through my mental issues, but I was too stubborn to admit I had any."

"I'm no different" Caroline replied, a hint of a giggle creeping into her voice. "I mean I'm clearly neurotic, a serious control freak and in a serious state of denial." Klaus lifted his head from her shoulder and looked at her, puzzled. Caroline dropped the arm from around him and brought it to rest on top of the other in her lap.

"Denial?" asked Klaus, "about what exactly?" When she gave no immediate response, he found his thoughts once again trailing off back to his haunting thoughts. "I… I've been in denial ever since Elijah died. I keep waking up, thinking I can hear his voice, but it just fades away. It's my fault, I know that. My father- Michael- he was coming after me!" Another stray tear escaped his eye, furthering his broken appearance. Caroline reached out and caressed his face, wiping the tear away as she did. Klaus sighed somewhat contentedly, burying half of his face in her hand, relishing in the way her skin felt against his.

"My father came after me too" she commented, "I know what it's like to have your family hate you. But it isn't your fault. Elijah… he loved you. You can't help that someone who loved you and someone who hated you collided, you can't help that the outcome was the opposite of what you would have wanted. Life is cruel, and you don't deserve this, but then half of us who suffer don't deserve it either."

Klaus nodded in response, his face still pressed against her hand. Never in his long life had he felt so comforted by the presence of another person. He'd spent his life acting fearless but knowing that there was always a horde of people that wanted him dead. He felt vulnerable inside almost all of the time, but in this moment with this amazing, beautiful woman, he felt safe.

"Caroline," he said, a smile creeping slowly onto his face, "you're amazing, really truly amazing." He sat up straight to look at her, taking both of her hands in his.

"I try" she replied meekly, trying desperately not to blush, but failing anyway. Klaus looked her up and down, admiring her. He grinned his trademark cute, lopsided grin that made Caroline's insides melt instantly and searched for the right words to explain how he felt.

"You don't know the half of what I think of you" he began, Caroline already hanging on his every word. "From day one I've said you were beautiful, but let me explain more. Your looks are exquisite, far beyond perfect… but yet you never see it. You're insecure, but without being whiney about it and seeking attention. You put up a front like I do, a front that makes people think you're strong, but really you just need somebody to hold you at night and tell you you're beautiful over and over again until you believe it. But Caroline… as much as I love that about you, it's your internal beauty that keeps me hooked on you. You are so giving, so selfless and kind. You came all the way out here to help someone who's destroyed monumental amounts of your life, of your happiness." By this point Caroline was stunned, too shocked to respond, and Klaus's voice was beginning to crack from a mixture of his dread over Elijah's death and all of his emotions for Caroline welling up inside of him.

"I've painted you," he admitted, "not just you, things that remind me of you and your goodness, that goodness that I envy with every bit of my soul. And I've missed you. I've just wanted to see you, feel your presence." He paused for a moment, and then leaned forward, taking a small strand of her hair between his fingers. Caroline at first looked surprised but then relaxed as his eyes met hers, a kindly smile gracing his features. "I've wanted to touch your hair" he admitted bashfully, toying with it and causing her to giggle. He moved his hand down to her face, caressing her cheek. "I've wanted to feel your skin against mine. I know I sound pathetic, Caroline, please don't think I'm weak for this, I can't let people think that."

Caroline placed her hand over his where it laid against her face. "You're not weak" she assured him, "admitting what you just have makes you legions stronger than I am." She bit her lip, thoughts swimming around in her head and begging her to admit her true feelings. She had to do it, after all he'd said and done, she just had to. But why was it so hard?

"Don't be fooled" he replied, "I'm not half the man I pretend to be."

"You're twice that man" Caroline responded, certainty and defiance in her voice. "You think being feared is what makes you strong? You're running from your own emotions, Klaus, that's why showing them to me is the bravest thing I've ever seen you do. Do you realise how much I admire you despite all you've done? You lash out, yes, but the battle you fight with others, with yourself, with your own thoughts, is more than anyone could handle. I will admit what I was scared to tell you last time we were in Mystic Falls." She took a deep breath before continuing, placing her hands either side of Klaus's neck and drawing him towards her. "I have felt something for you, something _between_ us, since I first started to get to know you. You've always had these moments of brilliance between every awful thing you've ever done. You're wise, Klaus, so wise, and artistic and poetic. But you're also playful when you want to be, and funny, and flirty, and I totally know I'm rambling right now but to be honest I'm just some insecure teenage girl who's out of her depth in all this."

Caroline took a deep breath and Klaus couldn't help but laugh at her usual flustered behaviour. She really was the same old Caroline, the one he remembered meeting and instantly falling for so very long ago. It wasn't long before they were both laughing together, just as they had in their rare but beautiful moments together and happy in Mystic Falls. Before long, their eyes met, and the laughing stopped as the same realisation hit them both: they made each other unbelievably happy in a way that no one and nothing else could rival. Just being in each other's presence ignited something within them that changed them for the better, Klaus was able to relax and Caroline was able to connect to someone more similar to her than she cared to admit to anyone.

Their eyes met directly, blue on blue, and Caroline realised she was still cupping Klaus's face. She went to awkwardly remove her hands, but Klaus stopped her, keeping them firmly in place with his own. He tilted his head slightly and leaned in towards her, his breath hitting her skin and causing her to shudder. Up close, he felt more human, she thought. He was intoxicating, and hearing his heartbeat quickening made Caroline sure she was having the same effect on him. She swallowed nervously, closed her eyes and moved in towards him as well. Before their lips could meet, she spoke up.

"Klaus Michaelson" she began, her voice only a whisper"… I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you." And the more she thought about it, the more it was true. She'd spent so much time trying to deny her obvious connection to him, the magnetic pull between them, that she'd managed to convince even herself that he was nothing to her. But he wasn't. He'd been on her mind day in, day out since she last saw him, and her feelings had only grown. Yes. She was in love with him. There was no questioning it. The realisation made her break out into a smile, inadvertently causing Klaus to do the same.

"Caroline Forbes" he said, copying her earlier use of his own full name. "I'm absolutely certain I'm in love with you. I always have been."

He wasted no more time. Caroline gasped as he grabbed her at the waist and pulled her towards him, closing the remaining gap between their lips. He was taken aback by how soft and delicate she was, how well her sweet lips fit against his. It was as if he had never kissed her before, though at the same time comforting and familiar. He never wanted to let go.

As Klaus tightened his grip on her, Caroline remembered just how strong he was. He was a good kisser, there was no denying that. A thousand years of practice would do that to a person. But it was the passion that he put into his kisses that made him special; he could convey all of his emotions perfectly through physical action, something that none of her ex's had been able to do.

They parted briefly, allowing Klaus to take off his vest and reveal his muscular torso. He had tattoos on his back, one's that undoubtedly had a story behind them that Caroline would have loved to hear. His chest was hard and toned, and she couldn't resist reaching out and running her hands along it. Within seconds, Klaus scooped her up in his arms once again, this time laying her down on her back and climbing on top of her. Caroline giggled, unashamed to admit that she loved his unquestionable power and dominant nature in situations such as these. He briefly removed his lips from hers, trailing firm kisses down past her jaw to her neck, teasing her skin with his fangs. The temptation to bite her was overrun by the consequences of what would happen if he did- hybrid bites were lethal to vampires after all- but the idea of blood sharing undoubtedly turned him on none the less. As Klaus lifted his head ready to plant another kiss on her lips, she smiled up at him.

"Show me what you've got, hybrid" she challenged. Klaus put on a mock sneer.

"Just you wait little vampire" he responded, "you haven't seen anything yet."

And she hadn't. Even when she and Klaus had had sex in a forest it had not been so adventurous. Perhaps it was because back then, they were still holding back on their feelings for one another, or perhaps it was just because of the public setting. This time, Klaus was somehow both rough and loving at the same time, not being afraid to throw her around a bit as he knew her strength almost matched his own. Despite this, he was careful not to appear too vicious, wanting to show her the softer side of himself that she could expect to see in her day to day life if she chose to be with him. He wanted that more than anything, to wake up beside her and kiss her as his first act of the day. If only she would move to New Orleans, she could pull what was left of his family back together again. She'd be a good friend for Hayley, whom he had grown to care about dearly yet had no idea how to comfort. She'd help mend his broken heart with meaningful chats late at night, walks through the beautiful city where he could show her all the art and music he had been dying to share with her, and all the amazing sex he could want. It would be perfect, if only she could love him enough to go through with it, but that was a question for another time.

As clothes flew off and hands roamed with minds of their own, Klaus and Caroline fell victim to each other's charms once again, this time realising that they were doing the right thing, that their love was not an abomination to be hidden, but a beautiful miracle to be celebrated.

Some time later, the pair led naked in bed together, their blonde hair tousled and their hearts beating fast. Klaus lay on his back and Caroline snuggled into his side, placing soft kisses on his chest as she sighed contentedly.

"Wow" she exclaimed, "I always had you down as a dominator but that was just…" she trailed off as she saw him smiling down at her, a look of absolute love and bliss on his face. "What?" she asked with a giggle.

"You" he sighed, "you look more beautiful now than you did when you walked in. You look best like this, messy, vulnerable… it's you, stripped to the core. I like it- no- I love it."

"Well _I_ love _you_" she responded, an equally goofy smile claiming her own face.

"I love you too" said Klaus, bringing her in for yet another kiss.

There were important things that needed to be dealt with to keep them together, friends that would be angry, the issue of long distance. But somewhere, somehow, they knew it would all work out. Right now, they were content to just lay there and forget the world. Klaus finally had the one person he could be himself around. Caroline had finally found the Tyrants heart.

And, despite the sorrow surrounding their situation, they couldn't have been happier.

**The End**

Ughh that ended up way too cheesy but its 2am and my brain goes like that. Love it? Hate it? REVIEW! I don't care what you say I just like getting them haha! Until next time folks!

CrazyRandomGirl


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